Roll-dressing apparatus



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Dec. 5, 1933.y J. A. GEORGE ROLL DRESSING APPARATUS Filed sept. so, 1932 w r-. f f., lll-lill...

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Dc.'5, 1933. .1.A. GEoRGE ROLL DRE-SSING APPARATUS Filed Sept. .'50, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 5, 1933. l J, A, GEQRGE 1,937,953

ROLL DRESSING APPARATUS Dec. 5, 1933. J. A. GEORGE ROLL DRESSING APPAITUS Filed sept. so, 1952 4 sims-sheet 4 lNvENTo 3% Patented' Dec. 1933 PATENT oFElcE l nora-Danseuse APPARATUS James A. George, Breckenridge, Pa.

'Application september 3o, 1932 sei-m1 No. 635,518

es claims. (c1. 51-2521 My invention relates to. apparatus for dressing and truing the rolls of.steelrolling mills, and includes a flexible grinding device and means for shifting the grinding'devicel to and fro across the 5 face of a roll. Indeed, I provide a grinding device for each of the co-operating rolls in amill, and', due to the novel structure of-my apparatus, the rolls of the mill are dressed and maintained in iinely dressed condition while in service. l

In general, apparatus for the dressing of rolls in the above-mentioned manner have been employed hitherto; ior example, apparatus including a grinding wheel has been used for years--the grinding wheel is rotated and shifted axially across the face of theroll being dressed. In another known type of roll-dressing apparatus a block of abrasive material is pressed snugly against the iace of a rotating roll, and is automatically shifted back and forth across the roll. Among all the prior roll-dressing apparatus, however, there is none which can be satisfactorily employed in dressing the rolls of a hot-mill in service. It will be understood that the rolls of a hot-mill are subject to a surface temperature of 500 or more degrees Fahrenheit, and, as in service the stock being rolled enters and leaves the pass between the rolls, the rolls jumpor spring a small fraction of an inch. Accordingly, a grinding wheel, or a block of abrasive material, held against the face of a hot-mill roll inservice tends to nick orto scar the roll when it jumps In'the main it is for these reasons that, hitherto, it has been practically ,impossiblev to ydress the rolls of a hot-mill while in operationthe practice having been to cease the rolling op`- eration of the mill and torun it idly while its rolls are being dressed.

' In accordance with the'present invention, I provide a grinding device which automaticallyv ad- 40 Justs itself upon the curved vface of the roll when the roll jumps," my grinding device readily yields, so that the roll surface is not nicked or scarred. Accordingly, my invention permits hot.-

, mill rolls to be dressed and to be maintained in dressed .condition while the mill is in operation.

This fact, of course, makes for economy in large measure; the hot-mill may remain in continuous service, and at all timesthe surfaces of its g rolls may be maintained in nicely dressed condition. l 4 l My invention consists in providing an endless,

flexible member bearing a succession of grinding blocks. The exible member advantageously comprisesa chain structure which permits a plurality of the abrasive blocks it carries to adjust themselves to the curvature of the roll, and to bear with self-adjusting pressure against the surface of the roll. .The apparatus of the invention includes means for eiiecting the travel of the endless chain, so that the abrasive blocks move counter to the movement of the` roll surface against which they bear. Means are also provided for automatically effecting the lateral reciprocation of the travelling chain of blocks across the face of the roll being dressed. It is yfurther characteristic of my apparatus that it Y may be removed from the mill readily and in a moment, to permit replacement of rolls, and this t is greatly advantageous over the now usual forms of apparatus which may not be removed, except with the expenditure of a great deal of time and v effort. Other objects and advantages of my inyiention will be found in 'the following specifica- In the accompanying drawings I illustrate a single pass hot-mill, and show in association therewith dressing apparatus embodying my invention. A travelling chain grinding device is provided for each of the two rolls' of the mill, but it is to be understood that one .grinding device can be employed, and applied tlrst to one and then to the other of the rolls of the mill. Figure'I shows a hot-mill fragmentarily in elevation at the leaving end of its pass, and illustrates my roll-dressing apparatus applied thereto; Fig- `ure II is a view in plan from above of the apparatus shown in Figure I; Figure III is a view of the apparatus, partly in cross section andpartly in side elevation, taken on the plane III-III of Figure II; Figure IV isa view in cross-section, taken on the plane IV-IV of Figure II, and showing to larger scale the structure of the ,endless-j chain grinding device; Figure V is a View', partly in side elevation and partly in cross-section, of two grinding blocks and the associated blockcarrying chain; and Figure VI is a view in longii. tudinal section of one of the grinding blocks-and the chain elements which support it.

The reference numerals 1 and 2 are applied respectively to the two rollsof the single'pass mill shown in the drawings; numerals 3 and 4 are applied to the `opposite frames, in whichthe rolls 1, 2 are trunnioned. and the arrow on each roll in Figure 'I indicates thedirection of roll rotation. Adjacent the face of each roll al carriage is supported, and each carriage includes abrasive means for dressing the surfaces of the rolls. To further an understanding of the invention, it may be advantageous to consider first the carriage structure. Turning to Figure IV, l

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it will be seen that the roll 1 is fragmentarily indicated in vertical section, together with the carriage which is associated with such roll. The carriage comprises a frame 5 that is rectangular in front elevation (Figure I), and is curved in side elevation in approximate conformity to the curvature of the roll, adjacent to which it is mounted (Figure IV). An endless, flexible chain 6 is trained over co-operating sprocket wheels '7` and 8 which are revolubly mounted in frame 5. The flexible chain 6 carries a succession of abrasive blocks 9, the abrasive material of which the blocks are fashioned being any one of the materials now commonly used in roll-dressing tools. Each block 9 is secured in a socket member 10; each socket member includes in structure opposite side walls which are drawn against the inclined side walls of the' block 9 (Figure V); adjacent each end of the block 9 a screw or bolt 11 serves as the means for securing the side walls of the socket member tightly against the block (Figure VI), and two chain elements 12 are integrated with the base of socket member 10, to the end that the socket member may be,

as indeed it is, secured to the flexible chain 6. Thus, blocks 9 of abrasive material are secured to the chain at intervals in its extent.

Due to the flexible structure of the block-armed chain 6, several of the blocks 9 in its inner reach are adapted to adjust themselves with their effective faces aligned in concave curvature and shaped to the convex curvature of roll 1, and, in this case, the design of the chain is such that four blocks 9 in the inner reach of the chain bear against the face of the roll (Figure IV). In service the roll 1 turns in the direction of arrow a, and, manifestly, -the four abrasive blocks 9 in bearing against the face of the roll effect a dressing of so much of the rolls face as they engage, while the roll-is rotating. By reciprocating the carriage frame 5 longitudinally of the rotating roll, it is evident that the entire face of the roll may be treated by the abrasive blocks. As will presently appear, I provide means for automatically efecting such reciprocation of the carriage.

It will be understood that in supporting a ilexible succession of abrasive blocks against the face of the roll, and in providing a yielding or flexible mounting (chain 6) for the blocks, I overcome the objections to prior roll-dressing apparatus. In my apparatus a relatively large area of contact between roll and abrasive material is afforded, so

'that the abrading effect is not concentrated upon a small area of the rolls surface, as is the case in apparatus including a rotating grinding wheel. Additionally, the flexible nature of the chain 6-the acharacteristic which admits of self adjustment of the blocks against the roll-permits the apparatus to operate whil'e the hot-mill is in service. When the, roll jumps in the manner alluded to above, the several blocks 9, bearing against the roll, readily and in an instant conform themselves to the roll in its shifted position.

I have discovered that from time to time dur-v ing the operation of the mill the chain of blocks 9 may be caused to travel in a direction counter to that in whichrthe surface of the roll moves. Accordingly, a high effective grinding speed may be obtained, without danger of scarring the roll. Indeed, by controlling the velocity of travel of the chain 6, I can regulate the grinding or dressing effect to which the roll is subjected while in service, it being understood that the velocity of the roll in service is more or less constant, or is dependent upon factors other than the conditioning of the rolls surface.

One of the sprocket wheels 7, 8 is power rotated, to effect travel of the chain and blocks 9, in the direction of the arrow b in Figure IV. The particular one of the two sprocket wheels '7,

8 which is power driven is the one which eiectsl 4the roll, and sweep over the face of the roll in a direction counter to the direction of travel of the rolls face.

The sprocket wheel which rotates idly in response to chain travelthe sprocket wheel 7 in Figure IV-is organized with means for adjusting the tension or play in chain 6, to the end that the correct flexibility or tautness of the chain may be provided for a roll of given size. Such means comprise an eccentric journal 7a, integrated with the axle 7b upon which the sprocket wheel 7 is mounted. The axle 7b is normally stationary in frame 5, and the sprocket wheel 7 rotates, together with an interposed bushing 7c, upon the eccentric journal 7a.' Manifestly, the angular adjustment of 'the shaft 'Ib in the frame 5 shifts the center about which the sprocket 7 turns, and, accordingly, the tautness of the chain 6 may be regulated. A

Turning now to Figures I and II, other phases vof the invention will be considered. As has been already indicated, a carriage (5) with its chain of roll-dressing blocks is provided for each of the rolls 1 and 2. Each carriage is provided with a pair of oppositely-extending stems 13, and a rod co-operates with the stems 13, to support the carriage adjacent the face of the roll. Indeed, the supporting rod nfor each carriage comprises two sections 14 and 15, and the inner ends of the two sections are bored, to receive the stems 13 of the associated carriage. Pins or bolts 16, extending diametrically through the rod sections and stems, serve to integrate the carriages with their supporting rods 14, 15. A

The rods 14, 15 are, conveniently, supported in the frame members 3 and 4 of the rolling mill; in such frame members the rods are free to turn about their axes and to move longitudinally of their axes. The opposite ends of the rods (14, 15) are provided with counterweighted arms 17, and such is the location of the counterweighted arms that they tend to turn axially the rods 14, 15,

ing rod 14, 15 is 'such in the case of the upperv roll 1 that the axis of the supporting rod lies slightly above the middle of carriage 5, while in the case of the lower roll 2 the rod 14, 15 supports the carriage 5 adjacent its top. The particular location of the supporting rod with respect to the carriage is a matter to be determined upon a consideration of the particular mill to which my apsection 15 is soprovidedwithfteeth-,as to constitutel a rack. A pinion -18 is provided for each rod. section 15'; therpinions 18 are severally secured' upon shafts" 19 and 20, and are in mesh with the rack portions ofthe respective rod sections 15. The shafts 19 and 20 are trunnioned 'respectively inbrackets 21 and 21m-such brackets being secured kto the frame 4f `of themill, as

- shown in Figure III. I provide means-for automatically rotating the shafts and pinions, first in one direction and then in-the other, to effect the axial .reciprocation of the supporting rods 14,f-l5. The range of'rotation, i. e. the number of revolutions of each pinion, is so determined that the carriages 5 are swept to and fro across the faces ofthe rotating rolls 1, 2. It may be well to remark now, that the teeth formed in rod sections 15 are radial in section, to permit the rods 14, 15 to turn under the influence of counterweighted arms 17 for the purpose aforesaid (cf. Figure III) The shafts 19 and 20 are provided with sprocket wheels 22 and 23 respectively, and a manuallyoperated clutch 24 is organized with eachof sprocket wheels 22 and 23, so that at the will of such gear-box, and adapted to be rotated in response to the rotation ofY shaft 27, is a shaft 31 which carries an arm 32. The electrical wiring for motor 26 includes a reversing switch 33 which is operated bythe Ishifting of its switch-arm 34'. The specific electrical wiring for the motor is not shown, it beingmerely a matter for lthe electrician; suffice it' to say, when the switch-arm 34 is in .elevated position, the motor 26 is'caused to turn in one direction, and. when the switcharm lis in lowered position. the motor is driven in the opposite direction of rotation. 'I'he operation of motor 26 effects the turning of arm 32 (Figure 11), and 1n 'its turning tha arm 32' engages and throws the switch arm 34. vThereupon, the rotation of the motor is reversed: con-l sequently the arm 32 turns inthe opposite direction, until it engages and -throwsthev switch arm 34 back into its first-mentioned position. It will now be manifest thatthe arm 32 is adapted automatically and in definite period to reverse the motor 26. Thusthe shaft 27 turns throughy a range of rotation, first in one direction, and then in the other, and the sprocket wheels 22, 23 are positively rotated `in accordance with the range of-,alternate rotations of shaft 27. Ac-

cordingly, the shafts 19, 2() are alternately ro-l 19 and 20, that carriages 5 are swept back and forth across the entire. length of the rolls 1, 2,

wheels 7, 8 ofl each carriage 5 (cf. Figure I).

and to adjust the range of carriage reciprocations for rolls of any given length.

B'y means of the clutches 24, the reciprocation of each carriage 5 is controlled; indeed, either carriage may be stopped at any point in its travel longitudinally of the roll, and may be allowed to remainat such! point for any desired time interval. Asa matter of fact, the rolls require more dressing at-their end regions than in their centrai portions, andfl my apparatus is particularly 'adapted to such condition; that is, the carriage maybe brought to the position where the roll requires greatertreatment, and, by releasing the clutch (24), the carriage. is caused to remain there. until such region of the roll is properly dressed. l

Turning now to the means for effecting the travel of the block-armed chains 6: A motor 35 is mounted on base.25,.and, by means of a'gearbox 36, the motordrives a shaft 37 (Figure II). A sprocket wheel 38 is `mounted upon shaft 37, and a clutch 39 serves to unite the sprocket wheel to the shaft, as is desired in service. Secured to the rolling mill frame 4 (Figure III) are,l two brackets 40, one located below each' of the carriage-supporting rods 15. A sprocket wheel 41 is revolubly ,mounted in each'bracket v40; the lower ofthe two sprocket wheels is driven directly from Isprocket wheel 38, by means of a chainbelt 42. The upper sprocket wheel 41 is driven by a chain belt 43 whose movement is derived irom shaft 37, and is Yunder the control of a clutch 44. A squaredshaft 45 extends'slidably -through each sprocket wheel 41, and each shaft 45 is secured to the axle ofone of the sprocket A readily removable universal joint 46 affords the union of the square shafts 45 with the sprocket wheel axles. Accordingly, rotation ofthe shafts 45 produces the travel of the block-armed chains 6, in the manner alluded to in the fore part of this specification, and the rotationl of the shafts 45 is subjectto the control of clutches 39, 44. As'the carriages 5 are reciprocated along the face of the rolls, the square shafts 45 slide in 'sprocket Wheels 41, so that the lateralmovement of the carriages does not interrupt the travel of ythe abrasive blocks 9.

facilitate the operation. to clear the roll dressing apparatus away fromthe rolls.. In such case, the bolts 16 are withdrawn from the rod sections 14, 15, and the rodr sections are each slid outwardly of thel respective frame members3, 4 in which they are mounted. Thus, the stems 13 are released from their supporting rods 14, 15,- and 4the carriages 5'are lifted away from the rollsit being understood that the universal joints 46 are also disengaged from the axles of sprocket wheels 7, 8. So, the carriages 5 are moved from the "rolls, and the supporting rods 14 and l5, together with the shafts 45, are slid outward 'and away from their place adjacent the rolls. In brief, the rods 14, 15 constitute separable supports for the roll-dressing tools, and, as such, they permit the roll-dressing apparatus in a minute to be removed for interchanging the rolls of the mill.

It will, of course, be understood that the'invention is applicable to three-high mills-that a carriage 5 may be organized with each roll of the mill regardless of the number of rolls in the mill. y

cating the carriages 5 may, in accordance with engineering practice, be driven by the rotating rolls of the mill.

I claim as my invention:

1. In roll-grinding apparatus for rolling mills, the combination of a frame, a carriage on said frame, and means for reciprocating said carriage y transversely of the frame; a plurality oi' rigid heat-resisting blocks of abrasive having grinding surfaces of substantial exterrt relatively to the circumference of theV roll to be ground, said rigid blocks being articulated together in a flexible unit supported by said carriage and adapted to be drawn circumferentially of the roll while maintained in contact therewith, and means for maintaining such flexible unit in contact with the roll to be ground throughout a substantial portion of the circumferential extent thereof while allowing the unit to advance under traction, the organization of the unit being such that under traction the succession of blocks automatically shapes itself to the contour of the roll and the grinding faces of the blocks individually shape themselves automatically to the contour of the roll.

2. Roll-dressing apparatus for rolling mills, said apparatus including a frame, a carriage reciprocable transversely of the frame, a flexible member supported at spaced-apart points in said carriage, said flexible member being armed with a succession of heat-resisting abrasive blocks adapted to extend circumferentially ofthe roll to be dressed, said blocks severally being provided with concave grinding faces, said flexible member and the organization of blocks with which it is armed being such in structure that the succession of blocks is adapted to extend with said grinding faces aligned in concave curvature, and means for 4maintaining such block-armed flexible member against the face of said roll, whereby the succession of blocks, under the influence of said means, automatically shapes itself to the contour of the roll, and the concave grinding faces of the blocks automatically adjust themselves severally to the contour of the roll.

3. In roll-dressing apparatus for rolling mills, the combination of a frame, supporting means reciprocable transversely of the frame, means for reciprocating said supporting means, an articulated chain armed with a successionof heatresisting abrasive blocks, said chain being secured at spaced-apartpoints to said supporting means, whereby said blocks are adapted to extend circumferentially of the roll to be dressed, said blocks severally being provided with concave grinding faces of substantial extent relatively to the cir-v cumference of said roll, means for maintaining said-block-armed chain against the face of said roll, the axes of articulation of said chain extending parallel to the axis of said roll, andthe organization of blocks with which said chain is armed being such that the succession of blocks is adapted to extend with said grinding lfaces aligned in concave curvature, whereby the succession of blocks, under the influence of' said means, automatically shapes itself to the contour of the roll, and the concave grinding faces of the blocks automatically adjust themselves severally to the contour of the roll.

4. In roll-dressing apparatus for rolling mills, the combination of a frame, supporting means reciprocable transversely of the frame, and means for effecting reciprocation of said supporting means, an endless flexible member armedwith a succession of heat-resisting abrasive blocks, said flexible member being secured at spacedapart points to said supporting means, whereby said succession of blocks is adapted to extend circumferentially of the roll to be dressed, said blocks severally being provided with concave grinding faces of substantial extent relatively to the circumference of said roll, said flexible member and the organization of blocks with which it is armed being such in structure that a plurality of blocks is adapted to extend with the grinding faces thereof aligned in concave curvature, means for maintaining a plurality of blocks against the face of said roll while allowing the endless member to advance under traction, whereby the succession of blocks advancing under traction automatically shapes itself to the contour of the roll and the concave grinding faces of the blocks individually adjust themselves automatically to the contour of the roll.

5. In a roll-dressing machine for rolling mills, the combination of a frame, two supports mounted in spaced-apart relation in said frame, said supports being movable in said frame axially of the roll to be dressed, and means for effecting the movement of said supports, a flexible member mounted upon and extending between said supports, and a series of heat-resisting abrasive blocks carried by said flexible member and adapted to extend circumferentially of said roll, the interval between said spaced-apart supports being less than the effective length of the flexible member extending between the supports, and said flexible member and the organization of blocks carried thereby being such that said flexible member is adapted to curve from the plane of its extent inward of said supports, whereby several blocks of the series carried by such flexible member are adapted to adjust themselves with their effective faces (considered collectively) in concave curvature and shaped to the convex curvature of said roll. y

6. In a roll-dressing machine for rolling mills, the combination of a frame, an endless flexible member, a series of heat-resisting abrasive blocks carried by said member and adapted to extend circumferentially of the roll to be dressed, two spaced-apart supports rotatably mounted in said frame, said spaced-apart supports being jointly movable axially of said roll, means for effecting such movement of the supports, said endless flexible member being trained over said supports and L of said flexible member and the organization of blocks carried thereby being such that said flexible member is free to curve from the plane of its extent in said inner reach inward of said supports, 4whereby several blocks of the series are vature of said roll. i

JAMES A. GEORGE. 

